Winter Wonderland
by Defender of the Light
Summary: Sakura wakes up in the middle of the night to find it snowing.  She races out into the night excitement bubbling within her like water from a natural spring. As she dances through the streets of Konoah she soon finds herself at Team 7’s training grounds..


Winter Wonderland

A Susaku one shot

A.N.- Haha, my first ever one shot for all you Sasuke and Sakura fans out there, it's more of indirect SasuSaku just to warn you.

Summary- Sakura wakes up in the middle of the night to find it snowing. She races out into the night excitement bubbling within her like water from a natural spring. As she dances through the streets of Konoah she soon finds herself at Team 7's training grounds where she meets up with Sasuke. The two talk for a little while Sakura oblivious to Sasuke's hidden affection for her that he keeps buried. Slowly they depart and Sakura heads home.

A.N- This one shot is a hinted Sasu Saku.

End of Summary. Yeah, yeah, I know it sounds boring but bare with me please. I apologize ahead of time for any spelling, grammar, or mechanical mistakes I make. The English language is a complicated language even for me…and I grew up with it.

"hi" talking

_hi_ thinking

Disclaimer- I have yet to actually own anything, including Naruto.

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Sakura Haruno sat up in bed blinking the sleep from her emerald eyes as she looked around her room curiously for the source of the noise that had awoken her so late at night. A light tapping sound emanated from the window across from the girls bed.

_That sounds oddly familiar,_ the rosette haired teen thought excitedly to herself, a large smile breaking across her face.

_Like the sound of ice crystals hitting glass!_ Eagerly Sakura threw off her covers and ran to her window. As Sakura looked out her smile widened and her face lit up. A heavy blanket of snow was descending upon the village of Konoah. Sakura hated the cold that came with winter but she absolutely loved the snow. Quickly, she slipped on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans grabbing a light grey sweater as she bolted out her bedroom door and down the stairs. She quickly pulled on her shoes before daring outside into the frigid night air.

Sakura's pace slowed as she ran through the dark and empty streets of Konoah, she soon came to a stop panting heavily. Cold white puffs of air radiated from between her pink lips. She slowly closed her eyes and listened to the echoing silence around her as the snow fell and absorbed the sounds of the night making them almost non-existent. Large snowflakes clung to Sakura's rosette hair making it glitter in the pale light of the full moon. Konoah had been transformed into a winter wonderland. The light of the moon accented the pale color of the snow making it shine like silver, Sakura smiled softly as she felt the cold flakes of ice land on her unprotected face. Her nose and cheeks had been tinted a light cherry red from the cold but Sakura didn't care; she was as warm as she needed to be on the inside.

Sakura again took off running through dark streets of Konoah half blinded by the snowflakes in her eyes. She danced and spun through the night with only the frozen ice crystals for company. Sakura couldn't explain the feeling she got inside whenever it would snow like this in Konoah, especially during the first snow fall of the year. Her emotions would swell within her and she would feel happier than she had ever felt before, somehow she would feel at one with nature. Sakura soon found herself at Team 7's training grounds and she smiled her face aglow with happiness and the cold weather. The bubble gum haired teen continued dancing through the snow to a tune only she could hear. Soon she began to hum softly to herself.

Sakura's body was illuminated in the moonlight as she drifted in and out of the shadows cast by the large trees surrounding her. Sakura closed her eyes and breathed in the cool night air. Her flimsy hoodie whirled out around her as she moved allowing the cold air to have access to her waist sending cold shivers of pleasure down her spine. Sakura's dancing slowed but she still continued to spin around just listening.

"Aren't you supposed to be asleep at this time of night?" A cold voice shattered the stillness of the night much to Sakura's annoyance. She flinched at the sudden noise a slight frown etching its way across her features as her silence was interrupted, but she pushed the frown away and smiled, nothing would ruin her happiness tonight.

"Most people would be I guess." When she finally spoke her voice was barley above a whisper in an effort to keep the comforting silence from disappearing. Sakura continued to dance slowly not caring what Sasuke would think. Yes, it was her raven haired teammate who had questioned her as to why she would be crazy enough to be dancing around in the snow in the middle of the night.

_Ok so that's not what he said but it's what he meant,_ she thought to herself.

"I like to be outside when it snows…it feels…" Sakura stopped dancing as her voice trailed off. She looked up at the clouded sky for a while before continuing.

"…right," she whispered looking over at her teammate who currently had his eyes closed and his head tilted back allowing the snowflakes to collect on his face. She studied his soft expression. Sasuke's normally hard features seemed considerably softer and gentler tonight. Sakura smiled faintly as she watched him.

_I've never seen Sasuke act this way before_, she thought to herself. He must have felt her watching him because Sasuke opened his coal black eyes and looked at her. Sakura's gentle smile grew to one of amusement as she looked at Sasuke's face. He had snowflakes clinging to his dark hair and pale skin. Sasuke raised a curious ebony eyebrow in silent question but Sakura didn't respond to his inquiry. Instead she turned her head upward to stare up at the steely grey sky as the snowflakes danced across her cheeks the amused smile still residing on her lips. Eventually Sasuke's curiosity got the better of him.

"What?" he asked. Sakura closed her emerald green orbs and shook her head gently.

_Something about Sasuke seems so different tonight. He seems more open and relaxed…I wish he was like this all the time..._ Sakura wanted the moment to last a little longer before she answered him and when she did her voice was a quiet whisper.

"You seem really different." As soon as she spoke the words the calm aura around the two was crushed and Sasuke's expression became hard. Sakura watched him sadly an ironic smile gracing her lips.

"And they say women are fickle," she muttered. Sakura looked back up at the cloudy sky again. Soon the tenseness in the air died down again to one of quiet comfort. Sasuke was silently watching his bubbly teammate thinking to himself how out of character Sakura herself was being.

_I guess I'm not the only one who seems different tonight._ Sasuke had never seen Sakura so quiet or at piece.

"You didn't really answer my question." Sasukes voice was gentle and his words more of a statement that she could choose to answer instead of one of his normal demands. Sakura wasn't in the mood for a smart remark so she answered him honestly.

"I come out here every day on the first winter snow. I guess it was an old tradition that I started as a child." Sakura's voice was soft with hidden laughter. "I guess I just feel at peace when it snows." Sakura paused. Her words were slow and quiet like the falling snow.

"Like maybe…just for once…all of the problems in the world don't exist you know?" Sakura turned and looked at her longtime crush. Sasuke did know how she was feeling, it was odd but he felt the same way too on the first snow fall. Everything became pure and untouched, bathed in the pure perfection of the white crystals. On nights like this Sasuke would come outside and stand in the snow like Sakura, it was pure luck that he had never run into her before now.

"It's a foolish belief." His cold voice rang through the air a little more harshly than he had meant for it to but Sakura remained unfazed. She only turned away and chuckled lightly to herself as she watched him from the corner of her eye. She could tell he was lying but she didn't want him to know that she knew, it would only cause more trouble. The softness had returned to Sasuke's handsome features as he looked back up at the dark sky. A whisper of a smile was tugging at the corner of his mouth. Sakura turned to look at her snow covered surroundings.

The plants were decorated with ice crystals making them look like rock salt. The entire area glistened like liquid silver sending shivers down her spine and her heart race. She slowly began to hum a quiet tune and sway gently from side to side. She began to spin again through the falling snowflakes. She was dizzy and fell over backwards into a snow bank grinning broadly. The cold seeping into her body didn't do anything to deter her happiness at all. In fact it seemed to fuel it all the more. Sakura felt like she would burst from the joy and she let out a small giggle.

Sasuke watched her uncharacteristic actions with curiosity. He had never seen her act so ditzy before or even this open. It seemed odd. Taking a deep breath Sakura rose from the snow not bothering to wipe the chunks of white from her body. Sasuke smirked in amusement. Sakura's hair was matted and wet with chunks of the white crystals clinging to her rosette locks. Her whole side was soaked from melted snow. Sasuke just shook his head at her, but deep down inside he thought she hadn't looked more beautiful. The rosy tint of her cheeks and nose from the cold made her face glow and her eyes were bright and shining with a hidden sparkle that he couldn't identify. The dampness of her hair made the bright pink shine and look all the more radiant in the silvery moonlight. This was just one of those times that Sakura liked the silence. She took a slow deep breath before speaking.

"Good night Sasuke," she whispered. Sakura bowed politely and turned to leave back through the silent night. Sasuke watched her go as he thought silently to himself.

_Good night princess._ Deep down in the sacred chambers of his heart Sakura was a princess and she always would be, no matter how much he tried to deny it.

Sakura took one last look up at the sky with half lidded eyes and she smiled softly taking one last glance back over her shoulder at Team Seven's training grounds thinking,

_Konoah really has turned into a Winter Wonderland, _a soft smile graced her rosy lips. _Ice Prince and all._

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A.N. Well, I hope you enjoyed my little one-shot. I know it wasn't really all that fluffy but hey, I tried. Feedback is most appreciated; I want to do whatever I can to make my stories more enjoyable for you guys.

Lots o' love!

Defender of the Light 3


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